


Fang and Claw and Tooth and Nail

by Auddieliz09



Series: Exy Sticks in the Apocalypse [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/M, M/M, Monsters, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23614624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auddieliz09/pseuds/Auddieliz09
Summary: After the Foxes' success at the NCAA Exy Championships, disaster strikes the nation. Monsterous genetic experiments escape their lab cages and create chaos that quickly spreads worldwide. In the pandemonium, the Foxes do what they've always done best: survive.After two years, the initial chaos has faltered but the survivors, cut off from most of the outside world, are running low on resources. Neil agrees to lead a small party to search for other settlements. The road ahead is a dangerous one, but the Monsters have always excelled at fighting monsters.
Relationships: Kevin Day/Jean Moreau, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Exy Sticks in the Apocalypse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699849
Comments: 18
Kudos: 86
Collections: AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2020





	Fang and Claw and Tooth and Nail

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, I was surprised to be chosen as a pinch hitter for the AFTG Revers Big Bang. This is only my second fic in the fandom and it was an interesting seven weeks, to say the least.
> 
> Luckily, I was given an amazing prompt and even more amazing art by LineCrosser and I sincerely hope I was able to do it even a little justice.
> 
> And I wouldn't have been able to get far at all without my dear friend and beta reader, xTarmanderx.

_Twelve Years Ago_

BREAKING NEWS

The president has issued an official state of emergency in Bonner County, Idaho and surrounding areas for what appears to be an, as yet unexplained, rabies outbreak in the local predator wildlife population. All residents are urged to keep themselves and their pets indoors while the National Guard neutralizes the threat.

**[Press conference with Dr. Sidney Owens, Director of UC Davis Genetics Laboratory and Dr. Marie Titus, Department of Ethology of the Watari Genocorporation]**

**Reporter: What can you tell us about the rabies outbreak?**

**Owens: First, it has been contained. Second, it was not rabies.**

**Titus: Chemicals tainting Priest River, and subsequently Pend Oreille River, from a currently unknown source have altered the animals' behavior, triggering the aggressive part of their brains, much like the rabies disease.**

**Reporter: If it's in the major water sources, how had the threat been contained? Especially if you don't know the source?**

**Titus: Countermeasures have been put in place along both rivers and their connecting lakes that neutralize the chemicals in the water. Reports with specific details will be available online by the end of the week.**

**Reporter: Can humans be affected by these chemicals?**

**Owens: If exposed to a large enough amount, yes. But all water treatment centers that pull from these rivers were tested and the water came out clear of all dangerous chemicals.**

**Reporters: Are the affected animals contagious?**

**Titus: We are still looking into the full effects of the chemicals on these animals.**

BREAKING NEWS 

Coyle Pharmaceutical Testing laboratory found responsible for ecological changing chemicals discovered in Priest River in Idaho. An investigation is underway to determine how the chemicals were distributed into the river. 

Owner and CEO of Coyle Labs, Kyle Coyle, states: “I, and my board, have never and will never condone the deliberate discarding of waste chemicals into Priest River. This incident is nothing more than an unfortunate accident.”

**  
  
**

_One Year Later_

_[Excerpt from New York Times article, Shifting Waters by Roger Cyr]_

_It’s been one year since the tragic poisoning of local wildlife of Bonner County, Idaho and the subsequent investigation into the research lab responsible, which uncovered a long list of cut corners and illegal animal testing. The former CEO of Coyle Pharmaceutical Testing, Kyle Coyle continues to claim to have no knowledge of the goings-on of his company, saying his staff must have gone against regulations at their own discretion._

_…_

_Kin Tsujihara, CEO of the Watari Genocorporation bought out the Coyle laboratory three weeks ago and plans to continue research and testing, stating: “The overall work coming from those labs is important to the overall health of the world population. While the methods of our predecessors are to be condemned, we at Watari will continue the work safely no matter the cost.”_

* * *

**  
  
  
**

_Present Day_

"Andrew, look out!" Neil uses the machete he'd brought with him to cleave through the skull of the Feral that had attacked him before sprinting toward Andrew. 

He manages to sever the spine of one of the beasts that had gone after the smaller man while Andrew dispatches the other with two of his knives. They take a moment to make sure there are no others before turning to each other.

Neil notices blood dripping down Andrew's right arm. "Tell me that's not a bite." He doesn't want to have to go through the trouble of ridding Andrew of the venom of a Feral bite.

"It's not a bite," Andrew says dutifully. 

Neil rolls his eyes at the dull answer, knowing Andrew would lie to his face for his own amusement. He picks his way over to Andrew and sighs in relief at the three shallow claw marks on his bicep.

He pulls his backpack off his shoulders and digs out the small first aid kit. As he sets about cleaning the minor wound, he says, "We should probably head back. I don't think we're going to find much out here. There are too many Ferals."

Andrew says nothing and Neil takes it as an agreement. Once Neil has Andrew's arm cleaned and dressed, they start back toward Palmetto. They have to take a roundabout route, avoiding the paths they'd taken on the way out. No doubt Ferals had been attracted to the scent of the others Neil and Andrew had killed like sharks to chum.

When they make it to the gates of the wall surrounding the small former college town, Neil calls up to whoever was on watch duty at the western gate, closest to Seneca River. Casey pops his head over the tower landing and waves at them before disappearing again. A few moments later, the gate is unlocked and Andrew and Neil make their way toward their living area, formerly known as The Foxhole Court. 

The court is at the southeastern corner of the campus that had been walled in. It had taken six months and a lot of fighting to get the wall up. The twelve-foot tall wall had taken most of a year and every able body to build while fighting off Ferals after the first wave of the pandemic. Engineering and architecture students planned out the structure, using building materials salvaged from buildings left outside of the wall and even some from within, ones that couldn’t be repurposed for communal living.

There are roughly 900 survivors living behind the barricade. Most were students and faculty of the college when the world went to hell, but they’d taken refugees in over the years. People who’d seen the wall and known they’d found somewhere safe. 900 was a devastating number when compared to the nearly 24,000 that had lived on campus during the school year. 

The pandemic had exploded at the end of spring, after finals and many students had already left for the summer. Neil wasn’t sure if that was to their fortune or not. In his experience, the greater numbers of those who’d stayed behind had saved them. But the impact hit harder when a Feral pack would attack a workgroup, killing everyone at once. 

Or if a bitten human went too long without treatment or termination. One man under the effects of the Feral’s venom could single-handedly destroy a small town. The venom sinking into the brain and sending him into a hulk-like rage. Unreasonable, untamable for roughly eight hours, unaware of pain or physical limits until the venom eats away too much of the brain and the body collapses.

As Neil and Andrew make their way along the southern wall toward the court, he’s grateful they hadn’t lost anyone important to them. When the court comes into view, they see Renee and Nicky training in front of the entrance. Nicky was still their weakest fighter, but he’d come a long way from the young man who’d needed his vicious cousin to save him from a group of men who’d meant to harm him. While he hadn’t lost his exuberance, he was much better able to hold his own.

Neil turns to look at Andrew. “Is this what you imagined when you made your zombie contingency plans? All of us together? Here? You didn’t even have to come back for anyone. You just had to go get Dobson and bring her here.”

Andrew doesn’t bother to look back at him. “Those plans were made for escaping and living on the road. This wasn’t an option.” He makes a vague gesture around them.

“But if there had been, I bet it wouldn’t have been like this, huh?”

Andrew doesn’t say anything and Neil knows he’s right. Andrew wouldn’t have thought anything they’re doing here would have been possible. He doesn’t trust people enough.

When they reach the barbed wire fence that had surrounded the court for as long as Neil could remember, Neil uses his keys to unlock the gate. Andrew follows him inside and Nicky steps back from Renee to greet them, sitting on the edge of the cleared platform they'd been training on. Renee joins him.

“Hey!" Nicky waves. "I didn’t think you guys would be back before tonight?”

“Too many Ferals. We need to talk to Coach. And probably everyone else.”

“‘Everyone’ as in ‘us’ or everyone as in ‘everyone’?” Nicky asks, eyes wide.

“Everyone,” Neil answers. “If we have to start going out farther to find supplies or hunt, then so are they. We all need to be on the same page if we’re all going to keep living here.”

Renee looks pointedly toward Andrew’s bandaged arm. “Anything to be worried about?”

“No,” Andrew answers. Renee just nods, taking his word for it.

She turns toward Neil. “We will gather the others. Coach is probably with Abby in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” Neil leads them inside and heads toward a room that used to be a media room but had been converted to a makeshift kitchen when the Foxes had decided to take up residence at the court. 

Renee and Nicky peel off to find the others while Neil and Andrew enter the kitchen. Coach Wymack looks up from the dishes he’s washing at their approach. “What are you assholes doing back so soon?”

“It was impossible to get anywhere out there. Ferals are everywhere.” Neil answers. “We wanted to talk to everyone about going to the rest of the town to see what can be done. If we’re not able to hunt, we’ve got to find better options. We can’t survive on provisions and fish forever.”

Wymack wipes his hands on a towel. “Fine. Grab Kevin and Jean. We’ll meet in the foyer.” He turns to leave, then pauses. “It’s… not a good day.”

Neil nods grimly and waits for Abby to follow Wymack out of the kitchen before heading out to fetch the former Ravens from the court. They're no doubt mindlessly practicing drills for a sport that doesn’t matter to anyone anymore. Kevin had taken humanity’s downfall hard. And it’s really no wonder since he’d been born and raised to play Exy, but now he feels like he has no purpose. And Jean? Well, Jean seems tetherless. He'd been sold to the Moriyama's to settle a debt, then treated like a very talented performing dog. He hadn't had a chance to have a life outside of Exy. They were floating around aimlessly, clinging to each other and the familiarity of the others' presence amid the chaos of the new world.

Neil gets it better than anyone else. He’d nearly died for the chance to play Exy. Several times. And now, there isn’t much of a reason to play. Not that it stops the Foxes from doing it, but it’s not the same.

Andrew follows Neil as far as the foyer, where he plops down in the center of the couch and fixes a bored stare at the wall ahead of him while Neil keeps walking toward the door leading to the court. When Neil steps into the outer court, he’s unsurprised to see Kevin and Jean, geared up and fighting each other before Kevin feints and makes an impressive shot at the unguarded goal. He watches in awe for a moment, never able to completely dislodge the admiration he’s always felt for Kevin’s skill with an Exy racket. 

Eventually, he notices the tension in Kevin’s shoulders and the extra force being put behind each shot. He sees how Jean responds to Kevin's aggressiveness with his own brutal attacks. Neil doesn’t know exactly how long they've been on the court, but he can imagine Kevin hadn’t lasted long after Neil and Andrew left before gearing up, Jean following so as not to be left alone with the Foxes. Which means they have to have been at it for hours. Sighing, Neil pounds on the court door in warning before opening it and entering. Kevin barely spares him a glance before hurling the ball in his racket at the goal. An easy shot, since Jean stepped back as soon as he'd seen who was coming in.

“We’re meeting with the others in the foyer. Let’s clean this up so we don’t keep them waiting too long.”

“What’s the point?” Kevin slams another ball into the goal.

“If you want to eat, then we need to discuss a course of action. To do that, we need to be at this meeting. Let’s go.” When Kevin ignores him to reach for another ball, Neil grabs the net on his racket. “I get it. You know I do. But you have to understand that if we have any chance in hell of getting any of this back, we’ve got to survive first. I have an idea that I want to discuss with everyone, but we’ve got to be there to talk about it, okay? So, let’s survive so that we can live again someday.”

Kevin closes his eyes and sucks in a deep breath before nodding curtly. Neil releases the racket and glances at Jean. Jean just shrugs and starts chasing down balls to return them to their storage bag. Neil helps and sends them ahead of him to take quick showers while he puts the equipment away. 

As he makes his way back to the foyer and sits in his place beside Andrew, he sees that everyone else has assembled in the room. "Kevin and Jean will be out in a minute."

It actually takes about five minutes before they join the small assembly. As they get settled, Neil can't help but think that even though it's been almost two years, he's still not used to seeing the two extra faces among his Foxes. Jean had still been on bedrest when the monsters had escaped their cages and spread their disease like wildfire all over the world. Erik had been one week into the two-week vacation he'd carved out of his work schedule to visit Nicky in the States. He’d never gotten the chance to go back to Germany and Jean never made it to California.

And that’s not to mention Bee, who stands beside Abby. Neil still doesn’t really like her, but she still continues to help the twins with their combined trauma, so he tolerates her as long as she leaves him alone.

“Alright, Neil,” Coach prompted. “You wanted us all here, so here we are. This is your show.”

“Okay. Well, as you know, Andrew and I went out to hunt this morning and we should still be. But in the two hours we were out there, we were attacked by Ferals three times. And we didn’t see a hint of game. I can’t imagine any of the others have been having much better luck than we did. Supplies are getting low and we’ll overfish the river and lake in no time when we run out. So, I think we need to gather the town and discuss options for moving forward because, right now, we’re not sustainable.”

“Aren’t the agriculture and botany kids growing food?” Allison asks.

“Yes,” Abby answers. “But not enough for 900 people. Not yet. And winter will be coming soon enough, relegating any growth to the greenhouses.”

“What was this grand idea you had?” Jean asks from his preferred place, leaning against the wall behind Kevin.

“That doesn’t really matter unless we talk to the rest of the town. Right now, I’m asking you all if you think that would be the best course of action.”

“Well, if you’re right about resources drying up, then we’ve gotta say something,” Matt says. “I know we all kind of silently agreed to take care of our own here, but we can’t just fend for ourselves when we have been sharing the important resources. We need food and if we can’t get it from here, then we need to do something about it.”

“I agree,” Dan sits up, “we might stick to our cliques, but we’re all surviving in here together. We’ve got to think about the bigger picture.”

“Alright,” Wymack raises his hand. “All those in favor of calling town meeting, raise your hand.” Everyone but Jean, Kevin, and the twins raise their hands. “Looks like you’re going for a run, Josten. I think the best place to hold a meeting with everyone would be at the football stadium, so tell everyone to head there. I’ll let you pick a time and you can tell us.”

Neil nods and Wymack asks if anyone has anything else to say. When nobody says anything, he informs them that they’re having chicken for dinner and sends them on their way. He stops Neil before he leaves and tells him the best people to speak with if he wants to call a meeting. Neil takes his advice and leaves the court.

It feels good to run, to stretch his legs as he makes his way back along the southern wall to the growing field. He tells the woman in charge what his plan is and she agrees to have her people meet at the football field at 8 o’clock. Then he moves along toward the library, the labs, fox tower, the last remaining cafeteria. He skirts around the cemetery and makes his way to the football stadium to talk to the remainders of the football team who’d taken up residence there, much like the Exy Foxes had taken over the Foxhole Court. He lets their coach know the plan, then heads back to the court. By the time he gets there, he’s drenched in sweat and his legs feel like jelly. 

After he showers, he informs the first person he sees --Matt-- that he’s going to pass out and to wake him when supper is ready. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually be able to turn his mind off, but the next thing he knows, he’s being awoken by Andrew’s voice.

“Hey, junkie. Get up if you want to eat.”

Neil opens his eyes to watch Andrew’s departing back as he leaves through the open door. He gets up, stretches, then jogs to catch up with Andrew. He bumps his shoulder into Andrew’s in a silent admonishment for not waiting for him. Andrew ignores him and leads them to the kitchen where a conference table has been used as a dinner table for the past year and a half.

He doesn’t really participate in the conversation unless prompted and keeps his answers short and to the point. By now, these people know when his mind is occupied and to leave him to his thoughts. They also know he’ll tell them what he thinks they need to hear. With that thought in mind, he gets everyone’s attention.

“Jean asked earlier what plan I had. I figure since we did agree to meet with the rest of the groups and they agreed to meet with us, I should give you guys a heads up on what I’ve been thinking.” Andrew is the only person who doesn’t look the least bit interested in what he’s saying. But Andrew had been there when the idea had first come to him a few months ago and Neil had told him he’d bring it up while they were making their way home from the morning's fruitless hunt.

“I’m sure many ideas will be brought up while we’re at this meeting. Expanding hunting ranges. More collaboration on the farming. Supply runs to the outside where we might or might not find anything. And more, I’m sure. I’m going to suggest sending a group to find other survivor settlements. We know there are other people out there and maybe we can set up trade routes for supplies. If nothing else, we can exchange phone numbers.” Somehow, miraculously, most places still had electricity and landlines to communicate. Cell phones were basically useless, as was the internet, but people could still use the phones. It’s how Renee and Matt knew their mothers were alive and well and where they were. How they knew there were other survivor settlements out there. 

The problem with the popularity of cell phones over the years was that people stopped memorizing phone numbers and just used the contacts in their devices to keep track. Then, people stopped paying for landlines entirely.

Dan leans forward to look at him. “That’s actually a good idea. So why are you saying that like nobody would agree to it?”

“Who do you think will volunteer to take on such a dangerous quest?” Andrew asks, not looking up from the chicken breast he’s cutting into tiny pieces.

There’s a beat of silence, then everyone seems to catch on to what Andrew is saying at once. 

“Wait, Neil? Does he mean you? You can’t just do that!” Matt exclaims.

“I’m not saying I absolutely insist that only I can do it, but I also don’t really expect anyone else here to volunteer to do it either. Do you?”

Nobody can answer him. Most of the survivors are still alive because either a) they holed up until the initial chaos was over then joined a group with safety in numbers in mind, or b) they were strong enough to fight the creatures and survive. Most of the athletes from Fox Tower had made it with the strength and endurance required to play college sports. Team sports members also had the long term effects of teamwork on courts and fields to work together.

That being said, no one _wants_ to go out there. Even the people who are brave enough to go out and hunt don’t want to go out too far away from the safety of the wall. No one will go out farther than half a day’s walk. Nobody wants to be out after dark. 

“Look, this is why I’m bringing it up now.” Neil looks around the table. “Maybe some other brave souls will volunteer and go instead. But there is a very high chance that because I’m the one to bring it up, then I’ll be the one singled out to go. And let’s be honest, out of everyone here, I have the most experience living on the road, watching my back.”

Nicky chimes in, “I mean, you’re not wrong. And it’s not like Andrew would let you go alone.”

Andrew tips his fork in Nicky’s direction in agreement.

Everyone looks thoughtful at the idea of Neil leading a small group out past the walls and into the unknown beyond. “So, we’ll all go,” Dan finally says.

“What?” Neil is startled by her declaration. “No, that’s-”

“Neil, if you’re already resigned to going, then we’re not letting you go alone. And I know you wouldn’t be alone with Andrew, but one man isn’t enough.”

“I-” Neil doesn’t know how to process the determined look on Dan’s face and the agreeable looks on the others’ faces. Except for Jean, whose face looks about as blank as usual. Neil should probably be used to this amount of support from his teammates, but he doesn’t ever think he will. “Look, I appreciate that. Really, I do. But fourteen people is too many. It’d be too easy to lose track of someone.”

“Fine,” Allison shrugs. “If you don’t want us, then we send the Monsters to fight the monsters.”

“Allison…” Wymack warns.

“What? Look, it’s logical. We’re all Foxes for a reason, but they are the ones with the most hands-on survival experiences.”

“I would also qualify in that sub-category,” Renee says gently, placing a hand on Allison’s arm. Before Allison can say anything else, Renee continues, “Your idea is sound. Those of us with the most experience defending ourselves have a better chance of making it out there. I would go with you, Neil.”

“What about your Mom?” Neil asks. “She’ll be expecting your weekly call and you won’t be here to call her.”

“I would call her before we leave, of course, and then call her as soon as we find a phone that works.”

Neil nods at the logic and doesn’t argue any further. 

“I can fight,” Matt points out.

“Yes, but someone besides coach who can fight should stay here.”

“And what makes you think I would be staying?” Wymack asks.

Neil shrugs. “Same reason as Matt. Someone needs to hunt if we’re gone. Besides, no offense,” Neil glances at the women sitting to Wymack’s left, “Abby isn’t a fighter and Bee is too old. Others come here for Abby’s help anyway. It wouldn’t be right to take her with us. Nicky, I think you and Erik should stay, too. Erik’s hiking experience would be helpful, but you hate the outdoors.”

Nicky, whose mouth had opened in initial protest, closed it and made a considering face before grimacing, no doubt thinking about life on the road in a post-apocalypse setting. Finally, he nods in agreement.

“I’ll go with Andrew, but you guys have to keep an eye on Katelyn for me,” Aaron stares hard at their older teammates.

“Of course, Aaron,” Dan agrees readily. Katelyn had opted to not stay with the Foxes under the same roof as Andrew, and that was for the best. But they still saw each other and helped Abby in the makeshift clinic she’d made out of her exam room at the court. Several other team nurses had done the same.

“You’ll be the closest thing to a field medic for the group,” Abby tells him. “I’ll help you pack a bag.”

Aaron nods in thanks.

“I want to go,” Jean says quietly from his place beside Kevin. He sits up straighter as all eyes turn to him. “I wasn’t much of a fighter before,” he nods at Renee, who’d been training him to fight “but I am good at staying alive. And I’ve never gotten to see where I was traveling before. Just endless highways on the bus. I’d like to see more of the world, even if it is in ruins.”

Neil stares at Jean and Jean stares back. He’s sure seeing the sights is hardly why Jean wants to go, but he also knows Kevin will go where Andrew goes, old habits dying hard. He also knows if Jean goes with them, it will be easier for Kevin to leave the court. Finally, he nods.

“Alright. Now that we’ve got that all hashed out, let’s finish eating and head out so we can make it to the stadium on time,” Coach claps once and everyone digs back into their meals.

Andrew presses his knee against Neil’s under the table. Neil presses back, grateful for the support and thankful that everyone had agreed to let them go.

\---

The town meeting had gone about how Neil had predicted at dinner. But when he’d brought up his plan, he told the town that he’d already assembled a team to go. It’d taken almost two hours for everyone to agree on the next course of action while they were gone and what messages they wanted to send to other settlements. 

In the week since the failed hunting trip and the meeting, the Foxes had been focusing on gearing up for a road trip with reinforced vehicles. They decided to take two vehicles, Andrew, Neil, and Aaron in one; Renee, Jean, and Kevin in the other. They’ve got Matt’s pick-up and an SUV that had belonged to the school. Andrew’s flashy car might be fast, but it left a lot to be desired in storage.

They filled the vehicles with crates of food and fresh water. The truck carried as many gas cans as they could find. Inside the SUV was a small bin with copies of research papers from the lab outlining everything the researchers in the lab had discovered about the Ferals and how they’d created the anti-venom for the bites. Each vehicle had a supply of the anti-venom and a loaded first aid kit.

Neil hauls one last box to the truck, he spots Andrew leaning against a short partition, smoking a cigarette. When he drops off the box, he doubles back to join Andrew, content to breathe in the smoke from the one Andrew is burning. 

“You ready for tomorrow?” he asks.

“What have I told you about asking stupid questions?”

Neil resists the urge to roll his eyes at such an Andrew answer. “On the plus side, you’ll probably be able to stock up on those.” He gestures toward Andrew’s cigarette.

Andrew shrugs. Neil knows he hates to admit that he’s dependent on anything so he’ll never express how uncomfortable his nicotine cravings get when he’s rationing his smokes. They both know he’ll probably have to wean himself off completely sooner rather than later, but for now, he’s going to enjoy them while he can. As much as Andrew can enjoy anything.

Neil leans against Andrew’s arm, enjoying the simple contact. Skin to skin contact is still hit and miss between them, but Andrew had managed to let Neil know that he didn’t mind Neil being in his space while they were fully clothed. He leans in a little further when Andrew flicks the butt away, bringing his face close to Andrew’s. “Hey.”

Andrew looks at him, their faces only inches apart. 

“Yes or no?”

Andrew says, “Yes,” and closes those inches himself. 

They stand there quietly for a few moments, sharing soft kisses and softer breaths. When Andrew finally turns away, Neil buries his face against his neck, content to just breathe in the smoke and metal scent that he will forever associate with the shorter man. Andrew tolerates it for a few moments more before stepping away. “I’m going to bed.”

Neil follows him inside. They have an early day ahead of them, after all.

* * *

_Two Years Ago - Watari Genetic Labs West_

_Dr. Marie Titus clamped down on the urge to bounce her heel nervously as she waited for her boss's helicopter to appear on the horizon._

_Her new boss. Her former boss's son. The young man who'd taken over his father's dynasty when he died. The new lord who had been cutting losses and pruning his father's assets to fit his new regime._

_She needed to make a convincing case for her life's work. She needed to show the new lord that his father's final project was nearly finished. She needed to convince him to keep her lab open and her head on her shoulders._

_She heard the distinct sound of a helicopter before she saw the machine appear over the treetops in the distance. Dr. Titus took a deep breath for courage and rued the day she decided to quit smoking. She shook out her hands and pulled a serious mask over her face, hoping she could conceal her uncertainty._

_The chopper landed and three men stepped out, ushering a fourth past her and through the doors into the lab. Once she'd followed and closed the door behind them, she turned to the young man in front of her, offering him a short bow. "Lord Ichirou. Welcome to Wartari West. It is an honor to finally meet you."_

_Ichirou Moriyama had eyes like a shark, cold and emotionless. "It is a shame our acquaintance hadn't been made sooner, Dr. Titus. Father spoke highly of you."_

_"My condolences to you. We were devastated to hear of his passing. And at such a critical time, as well."_

_The young lord nods in acknowledgment. "He was proud of this project. He said it would change the world."_

_"He was correct. We are in the final stage and ready for you to give the final order. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but may I offer you a tour of the facilities? I hope to give you the best understanding of what we're doing here."_

_No doubt Kin Tsujihara had filled him in with the basics of what Lord Kengo had been doing with his western laboratories and how the research had been passed around across the globe. But Dr. Titus wanted so very badly for her work to be appreciated in its entirety._

_Lord Ichirou's predatory gaze met hers. "Show me."_ ****

* * *

Present Day

Neil's gaze narrows as he takes in the ruined buildings and spray-painted warnings, cautioning people to move along. But if there are warnings, then there are people.

The city is almost unrecognizable. Neil isn't entirely sure if it was habit or calculation that drove Andrew to lead them here, but as they pass the Welcome to Columbia sign with a skull and crossbones painted on it, he decides it doesn't matter. The smaller towns they'd passed had been destroyed or abandoned. These small signs of humanity were the first they'd seen since leaving Palmetto. 

The usual two-hour drive had taken them nearly the entire day. They'd had to keep stopping to clear the road for their vehicles, sometimes fighting off Ferals in the process. However, there were fewer beasts around the roads than Neil had thought there'd be. But considering how empty the roads are, he can imagine that they don't consider the roads to be useful hunting grounds.

They slowly roll the SUV through the empty, crumbling outskirts of the city. Neil catches the occasional darting shadow of Ferals lurking in dilapidated buildings. His heart does a weird roll as they pass the remains of the building that used to be Sweeties. The place looks like it’d been torched from the inside. It probably had.

Neil still finds it hard to wrap his head around the idea that about fifty escaped experiments on the other side of the country were the cause of all of this damage. Not directly, of course. Bitten humans had caused the destruction, the fires, the chaos. That’s what everyone had been able to learn before satellite towers started dropping and worldwide communications went down. Before the news stopped being broadcast and the internet went down. 

Andrew doesn’t slow down as he passes their old hangout with its cheerful sign warped and charred at the bottom. Neil glances back at Aaron and notices him craning his neck to stare at the building’s remains. He turns back before Aaron catches him and idly wonders if Kevin, who’s riding with Jean and Renee in the truck, is watching it pass or if he’s being as stoic about it as Andrew. Jean wouldn’t care since he’s never been to Columbia for any other reason than to play USC with the Ravens. No doubt Renee is taking it all in with a serious, yet somehow still serene look on her face.

Andrew leads them aimlessly through the streets looking for more signs of human beings when they come across a fence. He stops in front of it, Renee maneuvers to park beside them. Neil rolls down his window while Renee does the same so they can talk. They all have walkie talkies, but there doesn’t seem to be a point in using them now.

Andrew looks over at her. “This is new.”

Aaron leans forward. “Do they really think this flimsy fence will keep Ferals out?”

“It’s electrified,” Neil points out. When everyone just stares at him he shrugs. “What? Listen.”

Everyone stills and under the sound of the vehicles’ motors is a low hum.

“The ferals have learned not to come here. We’ve been sitting still and not one has come to sniff at our tailpipes. I think the flimsy fence is doing just fine.”

Aaron mutters, “whatever” then leans back in his seat.

Renee leans forward to look at Andrew. “Left or right?”

“Left.” Andrew puts the SUV in drive and turns the wheel. Neil rolls his window back up.

They follow the fence for about five minutes before they hear bells clanging. Neil assumes they’re from the church steeple he can see up ahead. Decent place for a lookout. 

“It appears we’ve finally been spotted,” Andrew muses.

They keep traveling along the fence until they see a police cruiser heading toward them. When the cruiser stops, a black man steps out and walks toward them. He stops about six feet away from the fence and motions for them to lower their windows in a very cop-like manner. “I’m gonna have to ask everyone to step out of the vehicles,” the man starts after Neil lowers his window. 

Neil glances at the twins. Andrew is looking straight ahead as if he’s waiting at a red light and Aaron is frowning past him at the cop. Movement behind Aaron catches Neil’s eye and he sees that Renee has opened her door and is saying something to Kevin and Jean who look like they’re about as willing to get out as Andrew. She must say something to convince Jean to get out of the truck that has Kevin following suit.

Neil sighs internally. “We can’t do what we came here to do if we don’t get through the gate. Let’s just see what he wants and if we don’t like it, we can move on.”

Andrew tilts his head at Neil then turns his head to look at the officer. He snorts and then, for reasons only Andrew knows, he opens the driver’s door and hops out of the SUV. Neil and Aaron get out as well. The officer’s eyes widen and then sharpen when he takes in Andrew leaning nonchalantly against the front fender of the vehicle.

“Minyard. I can’t say I’m surprised you’ve survived.”

“I was just about to say the exact opposite about you, Pig Green.”

Officer Green sighs and asks, “Is it just the six of you, then?” Neil nods and Renee says answers affirmatively. He nods and rubs a hand over his face. The man looks tired. His plainclothes look an awful lot like Neil’s had when he’d first moved to Palmetto. “Look, kids, I’m sorry. We’re not able to take any more folks in. There are already too many here.”

“That’s actually kind of why we’re here.” Renee takes a step forward. “We’ve come here from Palmetto and we wanted to speak to someone about trade and communications. I think we’re all probably pretty low on resources and we need to start working with each other. We don’t want to stay for longer than a day or two, we just want to discuss options.”

Green looks them over and studies the vehicles behind them. "What are you hauling?"

"Mostly supplies for the road." Neil answers. "Food and water rations, preferred weapons, gas. But we also have hard copies of the research we've gathered on the Ferals, as well as contact information for our labs. We've also got some antivenom to share."

"Some what?" Green's brow furrows.

"Antivenom. For Feral bites."

Green just stares blankly at him.

"Right. Well, see? This is one of the reasons why we wanted to come. The guys who run the labs back at the college took tests and discovered an antivenom that, if administered early enough, will prevent a person from going feral after being bitten. There's a bunch of other stuff like that in these bundles for your people to read, including the antivenom recipe or whatever."

The older man tangles his fingers in wiry curls on top of his head. "Antivenom."

"I shudder to think what you people have been doing to the bitten to put that haggard look on your face, Pig Green." Andrew stands up straight. "Are you going to let us in or not?"

Green sighs and lowers his hands. He gestures in the direction they'd been following. "About five more blocks there will be a set of gates. I'll radio in that you're coming and meet you on the inside."

"Thank you, Officer Green," Renee smiles and turns to climb back into the truck. 

Everyone follows suit. When Neil's door is closed and his window rolled up he asks, "Pig Green?"

Andrew doesn't answer, he just starts the SUV and keeps driving. 

Aaron decides to answer for him. "Sergeant Green was one of the arresting officers after Andrew saved Nicky. He saw how messed up Nicky was and advocated for Andrew to be medicated instead of imprisoned."

"Darius Green has a gay son," Andrew says. "He knew how he'd react to someone hurting his family over their sexuality."

Neil nods and lets the subject drop.

When they reach the gates, they pause to watch two men run to open them. Andrew leads them through and Neil watches in his side mirror as the men scramble to close the gates behind Renee.

The next few hours are filled with meeting the people in charge of the Columbia survivors. The Foxes oversaw the first phone call to Palmetto to make sure their plans ran smoothly. They helped smooth over trade agreements and planned out their next stop.

Aaron and Renee went with a group of people to the clinic behind the fence that they'd converted to a small hospital to discuss the antivenom and connect them to the folks from Palmetto who'd created it. 

After the initial proceedings, Officer Green and the unofficial mayor (the real mayor had died in the first attacks) take the lot of them on a small tour of their enclosed refuge. They explain to the Foxes how the original survivors had come up with the plan for the fence, how they’d chosen the most logical part of the city to place it. All of the contingency plans in case the electric plant is compromised.

What is left of Columbia has been split into five sectors, each with its own purpose and communal cafeteria. Sector one is the largest where the families with children stay. There is an elementary school building that now serves for educating children of all ages. Sector two was in charge of fishing and hunting. The people there doing the best they could from the Congaree River and occasional dangerous trips to Lake Murray. Sector three is for small farming. There are chickens running around and a goat farmer had saved most of his goats before fleeing his home on the rural outskirts of the city and now his goats provide a limited supply of milk to the cafeterias. Sector four is in charge of fence maintenance and security. It also houses the people who worked the powerplant to make sure the fence was constantly working. The fifth and central sector is where the small police force and town leadership stay. As well as the medical clinic and supply distributor. 

The Foxes are shown the school where the surviving children still do some lessons. There’s a small park that had been turned into a large vegetable garden. “On the eastern side of the town is a residential neighborhood. The folks living there have started growing what they can in their back yards and whatnot, “ Unofficial Mayor Calloway tells them. “But there are roughly twelve thousand people here and we’re burning through our resources faster than we can renew them.”

“That’s about the same problem we were having back at Palmetto,” Neil admits. “We were hoping to be able to set up a barter system or something, but I’m not sure if it’s going to work if everywhere is in the same situation.”

“Well, Mr. Josten, being able to share information is a damn good place to start. And this antivenom of yours will no doubt be welcomed wherever you go.” Calloway gives him an encouraging smile, then checks her watch. “Now, I have some other things I need to oversee. Darius will escort y’all to where you’ll be staying for the night.” She nods at Green and leaves them.

Green clears his throat. “I’ll take you to the central cafeteria, there you’ll eat and I’ll introduce you to Mr. Juarez. He’s got an empty room for y’all to stay in.”

Renee thanks him and they follow him to the cafeteria. The building it occupies used to be another school, but most rooms are used for storage and a few are used for housing. Mr. Juarez is in charge of the building. He’s a no-nonsense, middle-aged man how briskly introduces himself and leads them to the cafeteria and leaves them to their meal with a promise to have their overnight accommodations ready for them by the time they’re finished.

As they make their way through the serving line of the cafeteria, a loud voice startles Neil into almost losing his glass of water that he has on his tray. “Holy shit! Oh, my god, you guys are alive! Holy shit.”

Neil looks up from straightening his cup to see a man beaming at him. He almost doesn’t recognize him in the brightly lit room with his simple jeans and t-shirt and his hair grown out. Roland. Neil smiles back at him, happy to see a familiar face from before. “Hey! Glad to see you made it, too.”

Roland grins down the line of them but his smile falters a little at Jean. “Nicky?”

“Don’t worry,” Andrew tells him. “We left him safe and sound at the court with Erik. The idea of a post-apocalypse road trip didn’t sit well with him.” Neil is pretty sure he can hear a pleased note in Andrew’s tone at seeing his former lover alive and well.

“Good to know,” Roland places a homemade roll on each of their trays. “I don’t want to hold up the line, but if you’ll stick around until everyone is served, I’ll swing by your table and we can catch up.”

They eat their food slowly, trying to stall for time so that Roland can catch up to them, but they’d been some of the first to arrive and the servers were still serving stragglers by the time the Foxes finished their meal. After they dump their trays and deposit them in the window where the staff in charge of washing dishes can pick them up, they make for the table to wait but Mr. Juarez intercepts them to take them to where they were staying. They follow him down a series of hallways to a large carpeted room. Neil realizes it’s a library; one for young children judging by the size of the shelves surrounding them, none higher than his chest. 

“We could only find three spare air mattresses for you in such a short amount of time, so I hope you’re comfortable enough with each other to double up.” Mr. Juarez points to a small stack of boxes in front of what used to be the front desk of the library. “The fourth box has blankets and pillows. Any questions.” When no one speaks up, he nods toward the phone sitting on the desk. “If you need anything, dial 1006. It’ll reach me at my rooms.”

Neil and Renee thank him and he leaves. Andrew wanders over to the boxes to poke at their contents and Neil follows him. Renee moves to start pulling one of the plastic mattresses out of the boxes when Aaron steps beside her. “I’ll share with you.” And with that, he turns on his heel to walk toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Kevin asks, turning to follow him.

“I’m going to tell Roland where to find us since we couldn’t stay in the cafeteria until he finished working.” Aaron looks at him like it’s obvious. 

“Kevin, go with him,” Andrew says, squishing a pillow between his hands and tossing it aside, to grab another one.

Aaron turns to look at his twin. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Of course not, otherwise I’d send Renee.” He must like the second pillow better because he keeps it in his lap before digging for an acceptable blanket. “You’re not going alone because none of us should go anywhere alone. It’s called a buddy system, brother.”

Aaron scoffs but gestures for Kevin to follow him. 

The rest of them finish airing up the mattresses, dressing them, and arranging them around the floor while they wait for Aaron and Kevin to return. When they do, it’s with a very excited Roland preceding them. 

Andrew gets an enthusiastic, if touchless, greeting. Neil gets an equally enthusiastic hug. Renee gets a short hug as well, even though Neil is pretty sure she and Roland had only met a handful of times. Jean receives a hearty handshake and a shameless once over, leaving the large backliner baffled. Neil’s not really sure why because Roland’s excited chatter is so much like Nicky’s that Neil feels… is this what homesickness feels like? They hadn’t been gone a full twenty-four hours and Neil is already starting to miss _Nicky._ Will wonders never cease?

Roland settles on the closest mattress and asks what they've been doing for the last two years. As the discussion twists and turns with everyone's versions of stories and differences of opinions, it finally lands on how and why they ended up in Columbia again. "So, where are you headed next? Where are you trying to get to?"

"We didn't really have a route to follow," Neil admits. "We're kind of just stopping when we find people at this point. There weren't any between here and Palmetto that we saw."

"We probably should pick a final destination, though," Jean muses. "Give us an estimated travel timeline to Wymack so they know when to expect us back."

"Okay, big guy." Roland grins at him. "Hang on." He hauls himself up and starts rummaging around behind the front desk. 

"Uh, Roland?" Aaron starts.

Roland ignores him and keeps looking in cabinets and drawers before making a triumphant noise and pulling out some papers. No. When Neil squints at what Roland is holding, he realizes they're maps.

He starts sorting through them. "North, east, south, or west?"

Everyone but Andrew looks at Neil. Andrew just looks bored. Neil looks back at everyone, realizing they're waiting for him to answer. "Uh, north. New York, maybe? Matt's mom is there."

"That's actually a good idea, Neil." Rene smiles at him.

"Okay, okay." Roland spreads out a map of the east coast. "So, from personal experience, I know that from here to New York is roughly ten hours. But you'll be making a lot of stops along the way. Probably. Maybe we should look at where you might need to stop from here to there."

"Sounds good." Neil joins Roland at the desk. "We've also got to factor in probable road conditions slowing us down. It took us eight hours to get here." He opens a drawer and pulls out a pen and a piece of paper with information about how to use the dewey decimal system on the front and flips it over to write on the back.

He doesn't pay attention to the others as he watches Roland's finger follow the quickest route to New York. He jots down towns Rowland thinks there might be people. "Raleigh is a little off course, but it'll be the biggest city through North Carolina. Next one would be Richmond."

He keeps muttering names and Neil keeps writing until Roland says "Baltimore." Neil's head snaps over to Roland. He can see Andrew's attention swerve to them.

Roland notices the attention. "Is there something wrong with Bal- Oh. Oh, yeah." His eyes dart to Neil's scars before he turns back to the maps. "I mean, you could just go around Baltimore."

"Not if there are survivors there. It's not like it's their fault I have trauma." Neil shrugs.

Andrew snorts.

Neil turns back to the map. "Where next?"

When they've finished planning the route, Roland yawns so hard his jaw cracks. "Alright, I'm going home. If I don't see y'all in the morning, good luck on your trip." He gives another round of hugs and goodbyes and heads out.

As soon as he's gone, everyone starts kicking off shoes and settling in their chosen beds. Andrew had shoved their mattress against the desk so he could keep his back to the solid front of it while also facing the door. He lays down first and settles under the covers. Neil joins him, keeping a few important inches between them until Andrew nods and Neil shifts closer before turning so his back is to Andrew's chest. He smiles a little because Andrew can't see as Andrew wraps one heavy arm around his ribs and tangles their legs.

He looks across toward the others in their small party. He and Andrew are the only ones sharing a blanket. He understands why Aaron and Renee wouldn't be sharing, but he has to suppress a snort at Kevin and Jean who are laying so close together that they might as well have shared anyway.

Neil settles for a sigh and links his fingers with Andrew's. He brings their hands to his mouth and presses a light kiss to Andrew's knuckles. Andrew tugs Neil back a little farther.

The next week or so is probably going to be very trying. But they have a plan and a goal which is more than they'd started off with. Neil is surrounded by Andrew and people he trusts. He has no doubt they'll prevail through anything their trip throws their way. 

He almost can't wait to get started.

_Fin._

_(For now)_


End file.
